The Restoration of a 1961 Mobile Scout Travel Trailer

In November of 2012 my Son called me about the purchase of a 1961 Mobile Scout travel trailer. I had no Idea what one was. He said something about a “Canned Ham” I thought it was something we could EAT!!! Boy was I wrong. Any way he said they could be worth quite a bit of money once they were restored and fixed up. I told him I’d think about it. I began to “Google” the subject and found that the Mobile Scout trailers were not all that common but were fairly unique with their Triangular windows in the door etc.. I told him that it appeared it would be an interesting woodworking challenge and that I would spring for the $400 dollar purchase price for the trailer. He delivered this to my house on November 25th of last year.

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She was in a SAD state of repair. LOTS of Leaks and rot. Gunna need a lot of wood work. Probably not gunna do a Pure Original restoration on the interior but we will make her solid and sound and give her a paint job so the family can get a few more years of use out of her. I plan on posting pics and update here on the blog so you all can follow along with the progress. Hope you’ll post your comments and enjoy the ride.

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We Began the Demolition today by removing the nasty bathroom. We decided that we won’t be needing it. Today’s modern campgrounds always have showers and Bathrooms readily available and since this thing is so tiny we can better use the space so out it comes. We also removed the entire front of the trailer in order to get to the rotted floor and frame members caused by the P.O.’s poor attempts a a previous reconstruction and installation of the window. We got it all tore out and some of the wood replaced. Still lots to do.

I think you are going to be busy! I did a restoration on a 1965 Santa Fe and it was a lot of work. I had a lot better starting point than this. But it was fun over-all. There are vintage trailer sites and clubs on the internet. Lots of info and advice. We doubled our money when we sold ours, but probably did not make a profit. It was better than a tent for 2 years. We also got rid of the ‘toilet’. Now we have a 20 foot modern trailer with a shower!! you get spoiled.

Boy Oh Boy. I found out that after 2 days of working on the trailer that I AM 63 years old and NOT 30 like my Brain keeps telling me!!!! I’m sore and tired. Crawling around under the trailer and yanking on old rotted wood plum wore this Ole’ man OUT!!! We Stapled a Blue tarp over the opening and bundled her up till we get another nice weekend to do some more work on her. I’ll do some measuring and planning on building the kitchen cabinets and start shopping CL for a sink, fridge and microwave. I bought some Birch plywood to repair the interior and will sand down the rest and then use shellac to give her the vintage look as before. We plan on putting Blue and While Floor tile in and I’ll do the Upholstery work since I learned how to do that when I did my boat and my Sons VW Bus. Hopefully we’ll have this thing Ready for camping by June 1st. We’ll see how it goes and if this old Body of mine will stand up to this work load!!!! More boring pics of Rotten wood.

Well, it was a Balmy 36° in Broken Arrow today so did not get to work on the little trailer today. Does not look good for tomorrow either. Maybe it’ll warm up this week and I can get some evening work in on her under the lights. Winter Blast hit us hard in Okie Land!!! I’m wanting to try to get front paneling in and framing for the window back in and the window re-installed.

As many of you may know, the Mid-West got hit by a Major Winter Storm and we have been in a Deep Freeze for the Past 2 Weeks. I have not touched the little trailer or even been in the shop. Nothing to report except research on the trailer and “Surfing the Net” for parts and ideas. Supposed to get a break today and tomorrow so maybe after work tonite and tomorrow I can sneak out and get some things done. We’ll see. Starting to get a bit of “Cabin Fever” already.

Excited to see your new progress! We have a 1961 also and it needs a little bit of help but not tons. I’m still trying to find a good place for a few parts, but I think it’s going to be pretty hard. Good luck with yours!